Ex power secy's wife summoned for not declaring money abroad

Former Delhi Power Secretary RK Verma's wife has been summoned as an accused by a court here for allegedly not declaring money stashed in an undisclosed company in the United Kingdom's British Virgin Islands.

New Delhi: Former Delhi Power Secretary RK Verma's wife has been summoned as an accused by a court here for allegedly not declaring money stashed in an undisclosed company in the United Kingdom's British Virgin Islands.

Additional Chief Metropolitan Magistrate Devender Kumar Sharma took cognizance on the complaint filed by the Income Tax Department and issued summons to Ritu Verma to appear before it on February 9.

The IT department's counsel said the department had received an information that the retired IAS officer's wife had floated a proprietary company in British Virgin Islands and she was its sole director.

Efforts to reach Verma and his wife did not fructify.

The counsel said the firm, Windsor Incorporation Inc, began its operations in July 2007 with 50,000 shares of one dollar each which in Indian rupee equivalent comes to around Rs 20 lakh (at that time) and Rs 30 lakh (at present value).

The department filed the complaint yesterday against Ritu, wife of Verma who was power secretary in Sheila Dikshit government, in the court after receiving all the documents of the company and memorandum of association, which is an authenticated evidence.

The counsel said initially Ritu denied having any such company abroad and later on stopped appearing before the department during the investigation.

"She did not disclose the amount of around Rs 20 lakh in foreign country in her income tax declaration and did not show it in her income tax return also," he said.